Radio 2 is still my radio one (Radio 2)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Radio 2
Date:	04/05/09 (327 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ecelectic playlist, some truly outstanding broadcasters

Disadvantages: Some dire broadcasters usurping the good ones, Steve Wright!

I remember when I was a child I always listened to Radio 1. On the other hand, my mother was a huge fan of Radio 2, which for me meant the Cliff Adams Singers and "Sing Something Simple", Vera Lynn and other music I couldn't relate to. Radio 2 was also the place DJ's went to when they got too old for Radio 1 - I well remember when Jimmy Young moved over in the early 70s for instance. Proof positive that Radio 2 wasn't for me was the fact my grandparents were huge fans too.

Well times change and here I am in my mid 40s an avid listener of Radio 2.

Of course Radio 2 in 2009 is far different to the Radio 2 I remember as a child. "Sing Something Simple" has long gone and these days much of the playlist is current chart music as Radio 2, the so-called "Nation's Favourite", wishes to attract a younger audience.

Much as I love Radio 2, I do wonder about its public service remit. Its daytime schedule is, with the exception of the Jeremy Vine Show, more about entertaining the masses than anything particularly worthy, but as radio stations go, the daytime presenters are amongst the best in the business which makes me feel churlish for even mentioning public service.

Sir Terry Wogan's breakfast show is probably an acquired taste. I first heard it back in the late 70s when I was a teenager and hated it. I heard it again in my 20s during the 80s and still hated it. However by the time I had reached my mid 30s I could begin to relate to Terry's Old Gits and the observations they sent to him. There's also the fact Wogan, whether you love him or hate him, is the consummate radio host - he has that rare knack of speaking into a microphone and making the listener feel he is speaking to them personally.

Ken Bruce is my favourite daytime host on the station. I like him because to me he is what a DJ on a music radio station should be - a lover of music. He is genuinely interested in the music he plays, in the celebrities he interviews and best of all, his show regularly throws up hidden musical gems from the past and the present. He has a sarcastic and self-deprecating sense of humour which I often find makes me laugh out loud.

Jeremy Vine replaced Jimmy Young back in 2004 and I have to say I found him a vast improvement. The problem with Jimmy Young was he still retained a great interest in the political debates covered in his programme, but had no interest in the music he played. I appreciate this is a generational thing, but by the time Jimmy Young left Radio 2 he was past 80 and it showed.

Vine is both a political animal and a fan of modern music and I find his show can be absolutely riveting at times - his producers seem to have a knack for finding subjects that you want to hear discussed and he always strikes me as a fair and balanced adjudicator and a wonderful listener to those who phone in with comments and views.

Steve Wright's show which comes on after Vine's, is my least favourite of the daytime line-up. I quite simply have never liked him and I don't like his disdain for some of the music he plays (which can be quite blatant), his "posse" and the fact he is constantly reminding us everyone "loves the show". Well I for one don't - I find him cloying, annoying and not particularly entertaining. It may well be billed as "The Big Show" but for me it's completely overrated.

I also get mightily annoyed at Wright's inability to state what song he has just played, particularly if it's something that is new and has interested me. The only saving grace is the website handily tells you what songs were played on his shows for the past week.

Johnnie Walker used to host the drive-time show at 5.00 pm and there was some controversy when Chris Evans took over the reins when Walker stepped down in 2006. I have to say I think some of the critics were a little unfair to Evans who is a very capable and personable broadcaster and has managed to retain the flavour of Walker's show yet stamp his own personality on it too.

Walker still pops up regularly on the station to stand in for Wogan and he has his own show on Sundays specialising in music from the 1970s.

Weekends have a different flavour, with Jonathan Ross doing Saturday mornings, in a show I don't particularly rate. When Mark Lamarr stands in for him the quality increases tenfold however.

Ross' arrival at the station seems to have led to a gradual influx of TV presenters to radio and this is probably my biggest criticism of the station - Dermot O'Leary, Michael Ball, Paul O'Grady and Alan Carr all have shows and while their names may draw some listeners in, for me they have me reaching for the off switch. I shall exclude Dale Winton from this list as in fairness to him, he began his career in radio and is very good at it.

Over the past 10 years I have seen the true music jocks sidelined - Richard Allinson, Stuart Maconie and Paul Gambaccini had shows which were for true music aficionados and these are now becoming rare treats on the station, with Gambaccini's show just recently being moved back to a later slot to accommodate Alan Carr.

Ironically, Radio 1 have brought Vernon Kaye in from TV for occasional shows and he is brilliant on radio in a way few of the TV imports from Radio 2 have been, so it can work and I cannot deny that Ross' show in particular is very popular - but none of them have worked for me.

Now don't get me wrong - the station still has some excellent evening shows covering various different genres including folk, rock, country, musical theatre and gospel - and has some wonderful musical events and documentaries regularly aired, but the shows where I felt I was in the company of a person who loved music as much as me seem to be dwindling fast. Also, these shows are aired in the evenings, which isn't peak listening time for radio and it can be easy to miss them. The iPlayer does feature these shows for a week, which is a saving grace however.

I also find the general feel of the station is getting younger - and while I appreciate they have to pull in younger listeners to replace the older ones, at 45 I find myself hankering for oldies that were out more than just a couple of years ago.

Of course I am now in the situation my mother was in back in the early 70s - I have a daughter who is only interested in listening to Galaxy or Radio 1 and loudly complains whenever I put on Radio 2 when we are in the car, proclaiming it to be "the worst radio station ever".

For me however it's still the best out there - for all the changes it still manages to entertain me for at least a couple of hours a day with excellent presenters and a truly eclectic range of music being played - but I am surprisingly finding myself going back to Radio 1 to hear DJs who are true music nuts because luckily, they are not being sidelined over there, and in an attempt at keeping my daughter happy of course.

I am also mightily relieved to know I am not quite ready for Saga Radio yet...

Radio 2 can be found at 88 to 91 FM, on Freeview, DAB radio and Sky and online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/.

Summary: Radio 2 is still the nation's favourite, and mine - but for how long?